Unleashing the cumulative power of crowdfunding
The same team that made over $12 million in 58 days with a tripod just made almost $1 million in two days — this time, with cell phone accessories.
I got the email at 3:11 p.m. on Monday saying “just launched.” By the time I showed my friends at 7 p.m., Peak Design’s latest Kickstarter had raised over $400,000.
Today, as I write this, not even 48 hours in, they’ve successfully raised $867,641 with a phone case. So how did they do it?
First, Best, or Cheapest
When launching a product, you often have to ask, is it the first of its kind, the cheapest alternative for price-conscious buyers, or the best iteration of this item possible?
Now obviously it’s more than just a phone case, I’m simplifying it when I say that, but what they're selling isn’t new. It’s not groundbreaking.
The crowdfunded company Mous already has magnetic mounts for your smartphone too — and Peak Design isn’t drastically cheaper than any of its competitors.
Their positioning, then, from an outside view, seems to be focussed on “best.” This is confirmed within the very first line of their Kickstarter.
“We design products with a singular goal: Make the best things.”
The benefit of products positioned with “best” in mind is that they appeal to everyone. Even people who already have a phone case and various mounts. The rationale is that by buying this they can level-up, and they can have something better than what they currently have.
Let me explain:
If it’s the same as what you have but cheaper, you have no desire to buy it.
If it’s the same as what you have, but this company happened to be the originator, you have no desire to buy it.
If it’s the same as what you have, but this one is significantly better, you do have a desire to buy it.
It’s a very clever way to have broader market appeal when designing products and has definitely contributed to their success thus far.
Their Snowball Became an Avalanche
Every avalanche starts with a single drop of snow. As it accumulates more and more, the pressure and potential power becomes uncontrollable.
Peak Design didn’t just make $867,000 in two days — they started this journey in 2011, over nine years ago. In fact, their first campaign made less in a month than their most recent campaign did in just four hours. I guess you could say they’re a nine-year overnight success.
This recent release is their 10th crowdfunding campaign, so they have the contact details of tens of thousands of previous and hopefully happy buyers to promote to. In their nine years, they’ve amassed 122,415 backers. Even if half of those customers are repeat buyers, that’s over 61,000 people to market this new product to.
Make no mistake, email is still the number one pound for pound King of B2C marketing. You only need 8% of those 61,000 people to convert to make $800k. It’s a numbers game.
Remember, it’s not what you have now, it’s what you can build in a decade.
With no outside investments, debts, or huge stock overheads, this San Franciso product design agency is leveraging their growing audience year on year to maximise profits and create seemingly viral campaigns from repeat customers.
As their product funds quickly within minutes of launching, it hijacks the Kickstarter algorithm and springboards itself to the trending, hot, popular, or featured sections.
Kickstarter had no choice but to feature this new Peak Design campaign on their homepage. Thus, their popularity begets more popularity — and their snowball becomes an avalanche.
Note: I am not paid by, endorsed by, or an affiliate for Peak Design. I’m just a fan of great marketing. You can view their current campaign earnings here.